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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. season — of the year
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. row — to paddle
  11. craft — boats
  12. board — to get on
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. season — in sport
  18. bat — the animal
  19. row — a line
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chip — to eat

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com